Hi, all.

I just started using 1 drop Aquari-sol per gallon of water (plus heat and salt) to treat a betta with fin trouble (consistency of overdone spinach) and a couple of visible spots of ich.

The Aquari-sol package says it is for prevention of problems *and* can be used in conjunction with heat as a cure. (Is that true?)

Other meds were recommended here on Koko's in my recent "Abused Betta" thread, but I couldn't find them locally. Multiple betta sites recommend using Aquari-Sol, but it sounds as if it's a preventative instead of a cure for ich and bacterial infections.

I really want to do right by this betta who has seen such a rough life so far.

Should I switch meds?

Thanks,

Caroline in San Jose

As I mentioned in a previous post, I treated with Quick Cure and salt. I didn't put very much salt in the tank. I have a five gallon tank, and I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, total. I don't really know if that did anything for the ich.

However, after a couple of days, the ich was gone and it hasn't returned.

As for switching meds, I think I would stick with the Aquarisol for a bit. If with the heat and several days of treatment, you don't see an improvement, I would then think of trying something else.

Good luck with your treatment, and let us know how it goes.

If you are using Aquati Sol for ich you are going to need to up the water temperature to about 80 degrees. Then if it doesn't work I would switch to Quick Cure or something. Adding salt wouldn't hurt. I add 1/2 teaspoon per gallon and that seems to work best for me. I useed to use a smaller dosage of salt and aquari sol as a preventative and my fish didn't get sick very frequently. I've stopped doing that now and my fish seem to get sick easier. Maybe it was the meds or maybe it was I just had healthier fish? I don't know, but I'm going to go back to using them as preventatives.

After talking to 2 LFS owners, I'm going to stop using the AquariSol. They both thought it was too mild to cure, but it was fine as a preventative. (A fish exposed to ich can be treated with that to keep it from getting ich.)

So, after a day of clean water we'll try a course of Rid-Ich followed by a course of Maracyn II.

Thanks for your help!